Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed considering the possibility of transferring the management rights to the Armenian railway concession to a third country that maintains "friendly relations" with both Yerevan and Moscow. He stated that such a measure could address Armenia's loss of competitive advantages amid the development of international transport routes bypassing the republic.
The head of government made the announcement at a press briefing on February 13. When asked which countries he was referring to, he mentioned Kazakhstan, the UAE, and Qatar, emphasizing that this list was not exhaustive.
Armenia's railways are currently managed by South Caucasus Railways, a subsidiary of Russian Railways. The 30-year concession agreement was signed in 2008.
Earlier in February, in an interview with public television, Pashinyan publicly addressed the negative consequences of the current governance model for the first time.
"Here we see that in the international context, the fact that this section of the railway is under Russian control is being used to present the Kars-Diluju route as more advantageous. This is a problem for us, because it means we are losing our competitive advantage in a situation where we have a ready-made railway," Pashinyan said at the time.
At a press conference on February 13, the prime minister shared his thoughts about how "there are currently forces within the TRIPP" seeking to bypass Armenia, noting that the country's railway system is controlled by Russia.
He lamented that "relations between Russia and many countries are tense," but emphasized that Yerevan views the railway as Armenian property and assumes that Moscow "does not want and will not create obstacles to our regional projects."
The Prime Minister also recalled the existence of "two competing options" for extending the so-called "Trump Route," which is intended to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan through Armenian territory. One option is the construction of a new line from Kars, Turkey, to Nakhichevan, as previously announced by Turkey and Azerbaijan. An alternative route involves using the existing railway on the Yerashk-Akhurik section, which is in need of restoration.
Last December, Pashinyan announced that Armenia had asked Russia to "urgently resolve" the issue of fully restoring these two sections. At the same press conference on February 13, he "welcomed" Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk's statement that Russia had "decided to begin substantive negotiations" with the Armenian side on this issue, but countered that, in his view, "there is nothing to negotiate about," since the project involves approximately 4 kilometers of railway track.
"By the time we do this, an alternative railway will be built, and we'll say, 'Oh, Armenia has been bypassed again.' No, there's nothing to discuss—let's build it first, and then we'll discuss it," the Armenian leader declared.
